Since day one I have had this recurring problem with Tenzin although his flare ups are far fewer and intense then at first it still shows up from time to time. Actually one of my first posts on the board was about this problem and I don't think I really described the situation properly or understood what was happening at the time. I finally caught a mild episode on tape. (they seem more intense and crazy when he is outside and he has room to run around me) I'm hoping maybe someone can tell me what this behavior is all about and how I should handle the situation when it happens.

What is happening is in certain situations Tenzin will kind of snap and start running around me in circles and then either mount my leg or just slam his front paws into my body. While he is doing this he is barking and being mouthy as well. When I first got him I didn't know much about training (Still don't ) and thought that it was a handler aggresion problem I don't think that is the case now just because of some of his body language like wagging his tail during this or rolling over on his back after a correction. I do wonder if it is some kind of dominance issue.

Things I have found that seem to trigger one of these episodes are.
1. Walking past other dogs (This was a huge problem when I first got him but have not had one problem in the last 4-5 months I would say)
2. When we play fetch outside and he misses the ball on the retreive.
3. When I feel like he does not want to follow a command such as calling him inside when he is out laying in the grass.
4. If he gets confused on what I'm asking him (Usually my fault I'm trying to work on this)
5. Most recently it has started showing up in our marker training sessions and it almost always happens when I give him the down command. (He knows down it's just like at some point he does not want to do it anymore in an OB session. I have started to notice when it's coming and I'm not sure if I should back off to another command or hold my ground.)

Things I have tried
1. Giving him a correction when this happens. He will usually stop with an e-collar correction but if he is on his prong it seems to jack him up and make the situation worse. I have no problem correcting Tenzin if that is what needs to be done but it kills his drive during marker training and I have been trying hard to use positive methods with him.(Tenzin first experiences with trianing were not good and I'm trying to overcome alot of the problems that came from it. Before I got him the rescue group sent him to a yank and crank trainer and I put him through a couple of months of horrible e-collar training with Sit means Sit before I learned better.)
2. Redirecting him with food or toys but when he gets in one of these modes it's like his brain shuts down or something.
3. Putting him in his crate for 5 min and then starting training again sometimes this helps sometimes he will come out and start all over again.
4. A few times I have tried to walk away from him and just ignore the behavior but I doubt that will resolve the situation.

Here is the video any advise would be greatly appreciated I really want to overcome this problem. Tenzin can be fearful and nervy at times but he is a great dog and I want us to work through this problem. I did notice after I watched this I get pretty loud with the no's which I know is not good for marker training but I just get caught up with the situation I walk into the kitchen at one point to try and chill both of us out at one point in the video. Also I'm not sure if I should mark the down if he does it after one of these episodes or not.

http://youtu.be/oY0lf-CwM0w

Brent,

Tenzin doesn't seem to be very excited about the rewards most of the time and the training goes on and on and finally he gets frustrated and you get the running and the jumping.

Check out this video for comparison and try to make your sessions more like this

You might want to try to keep the sessions shorter and be more animated and excited yourself.

When you release Tenzin start moving immediately and make the reward a mini-event instead of just putting a piece of food into his mouth.

Tenzin might get more interested in food if you only feed him during the training sessions.

Tenzins drive is definately all over the place somedays he is really pumped for food sometimes not so much i always train him before he eats. I have actually been trying to calm things down because when he gets excited it seems to make this worse. I have a video of us doing a more exciting training session where he starts to show some of the same behavior i will try and post it when i get back to my computer. I will say to i was a bit nervous knowing people on here would be viewing it ... thank u for your advice

Are you staring at him when this happens?

Alot of times yes except for when it happens when we are playing fetch and he keeps missing the ball or tug. A few times i have noticed his hackles standing up as well.

 Quote: Ana Kozlowsky

Brent,

Tenzin doesn't seem to be very excited about the rewards most of the time and the training goes on and on and finally he gets frustrated and you get the running and the jumping.

Check out this video for comparison and try to make your sessions more like this

You might want to try to keep the sessions shorter and be more animated and excited yourself.

When you release Tenzin start moving immediately and make the reward a mini-event instead of just putting a piece of food into his mouth.

Tenzin might get more interested in food if you only feed him during the training sessions.

a big DITTO on this. I was bored to tears. Can't imagine that you dog is any happier with it. It was WAY too long & needs a ton more fun for the dog.(& you) The dog is only minimally engaged with you. He needs to know that everytime you take him out to train that he is going to have a blast of a good time with you.....not monotany & bordum.

Brent, try changing up your treats, or just mixing a bunch of different stuff together...like a dog-training-trail-mix.

Do you Jackpot when he does the down the way you want?

and is there a reason you toss some treats on the floor instead of handing them to him?

When Tucker gets frustrated he lets me know in kind of the same way. He doesn't jump up, but he will air-snap (not at me, just in the air)become more whiney etc etc...at that point I ask him to do something he does know and end it. I don't want a negative association (frustration) with my Marker Training.

Im not sure if thats what everyone does, but that's how i work through his frustration.

I know there are some things that me and Tenzin need to work on with markers. This is definately not the best example of our training.
Like I said before I was trying to keep things calm because if he gets to worked up it makes the situation worse.
I am using trail mix and have noticed often higher value treats make the situation worse because he just wants the treats. I was using a lamb meat roll and little pieces of bacon when I recorded this. How long should I train I did not think 8 minutes was that long?

Just to give you antoher example of this behavior last night after I posted this I went home and took Tenzin outside to play tug. We went into the yard he sat down I marked it and whiped out the tug and he went into one of these modes right away. I tried to redirect him on the tug but he would just jump and head butt the tug it's like he can't focus when he gets like this.

My male has very high food & ball drive. BUT...to introduce something new....I need to use food to first teach the new behavior. If I take out his ball...he is so crazy & gets so hectic he can't think. Not the most clear headed dog out there. So the ball is uesed AFTER he gets the idea of the new behavoir to reinforce it.

It also looks like your dog is very frustrated to me. Could be for a number of reasons.

I personally let me dogs run around the yard a bit when I first let them out...before I start any OB training. But that's just me. I want then to have a bit of time to run off the crazies before I ask them to work & focus.

My other thought is that maybe this is the dogs way of trying to tell you that he wants to play & have more fun. Maybe what you are doing with him is WAY too structured ALL the time. Maybe just a few minutes of silly play before starting working with him. I don't know the dog or even how old he is or his drvie level or breed.

Add some treats that he has never had. My dogs LOVE green beans, blueberries, banannas. I don't use the sweet stuff very much...just mix then in here & there, so there is a suprize now & again. Or jackpot with something special. I used to do that at the middle or end of tracks...when I used to track my dogs.

Don't know if any of this helps.

 Quote: anne jones

My other thought is that maybe this is the dogs way of trying to tell you that he wants to play & have more fun. Maybe what you are doing with him is WAY too structured ALL the time.

That was my impression as well.

Maybe he doesn't like how you are playing? Could you post videos of you playing tug and ball with him?

eta:

 Quote: brent petersen

... i always train him before he eats.

If he only gets fed during training sessions he'll be much more interested in food. You cannot sustain "high value treats" race forever - the dog will burst at the seam

Dogs often get wild and frustrated if they don't know how to access the reward. Try simpler exercises first and iron out your marker basics with him.